What is it about Republican lawmakers these days? They see budget surpluses and think to themselves, "Oh, good God, no! We cannot have any money available for the state should the state need it. We must clear the coffers as soon as possible!" They see surplus and think "tax cut."
In today's Arizona Republic, the editors
rightly criticize the state legislators:
Republican legislators are not serving Arizona's long-term interests by insisting on giant tax cuts in the fiscal 2007 budget, which is hovering at $10 billion.
The Senate has voted to whack state income tax by 10 percent and completely eliminate a state-levied property tax. The House favors dividing the tax cut over two years and reducing the property tax.
Now, as a former resident of California, I know that Cemocrats can be just as guilty as these Repubs in spending away surpluses. However, at least the Dems had their hearts in the right place, spending their surpluses on valueable programs...on the people of the state.
These Repubs, however, will not increase any kind of state spending where it is needed. They will not raise teacher salaries as teachers are fleeing the state for greener pastures, making Arizona one of the worst states for public education. They see extra money in the coffers and they reflexively cut taxes.
We all know how well that has gone for the Federal government.
When will people understand that having a better quality of life sometimes means paying taxes. Oh! Wait! Rich people already have a fine quality of life...they don't care about the status of the middle and lower classes.
We all know how well that turned out for the pre-revolutionary French aristocracy.
Now I think there needs to be a balance for spending some of the surplus on valuable items such as health care, infrastructure and education and being fiscally responsible by putting some of it away in Mr. Gore's unfairly ridiculed Lock Box.
But, then again, I am not a Republican.
